The One Unit Scheme ( ur, ; bn, এক ইউনিট ব্যবস্থা) was a geopolitical programme launched by the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
led by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Muhammad Ali Bogra
Sahibzada Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury ( bn, সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ আলী চৌধুরী; Urdu: سید محمد علی چوہدری), more commonly known as Mohammad Ali Bogra ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আলী ...
on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955. The government claimed that the programme would overcome the difficulty of administering the two unequal polities of
West and
East Pakistan separated from each other by more than a thousand miles.
To diminish the differences between the two regions, the 'One Unit' programme merged the four provinces of
West Pakistan (
West Punjab,
Sind
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
,
NWFP &
Baluchistan) into a single province to parallel the province of
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...
(now Bangladesh).
Pakistani scholars and researchers maintain that the One Unit programme was viewed as a counterbalance against the political and population domination of the ethnic
Bengali population of East Pakistan. The One Unit program was met with great resistance and grievances were raised by the four provinces since its establishment. The
National Awami Party successfully sponsored a bill in the National Assembly calling for its dissolution and providing for regional autonomy. This led to the military takeover of the national government. The One Unit programme remained in effect until 1970.
Finally,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
General
Yahya Khan imposed
Legal Framework Order No. 1970 to end the One Unit program and reinstate the provisional status of the Four Provinces as of
August 1947.
Background
Following the failure to implement the Bogra Formula, PM Muhammad Ali Bogra began working towards the controversial One Unit program that integrated the Four Provinces into a single province West Pakistan, to equalize the western wing with the eastern wing, East Pakistan.
During this time, Ghulam Muhammad's health began to deteriorate, and paralysis spread through his whole body, forcing him to take a 2 month leave of absence in 1955 to seek treatment in the United Kingdom. Iskander Mirza was appointed as acting governor-general on 7 August 1955. Soon after the appointment, Acting Governor-General Mirza began having confrontation with Prime Minister Bogra on regional disparity though both were Bengali and were from Bengal, and Mirza forced the Prime Minister Bogra to resign, appointing him as the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States. On 12 August 1955, he invited Muhammad Ali, the Finance Minister, to take over the government as a prime minister. The One Unit policy was passed on 30th September 1955 by the new Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali. Mirza dismissed Malik Ghulam to take over his post on 6 October 1955 (just one day before his acting capacity ended), supported by the Constituent Assembly's legislators (as Ghulam Muhammad was seen as despotic).
History
Pakistan was
conceived by philosopher
Sir Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...
in 1930 (uniting the four states of the northwestern
British Indian Empire), the country was
established on 14 August 1947, directly resulting from the
Pakistan Movement led by
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
. Since then, the country had been without a consolidated written constitution, and all Pakistan's state affairs had been run under constitutional acts of the
British Indian Empire, such as the
Government of India Act 1935 and the
Indian Independence Act 1947
The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 Ju ...
.
The
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
had prolonged difficulty in administrating
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = Ea ...
, with its border with
Eastern India, and the four provinces, which border
Western India, Iran, China, and Afghanistan.
One Unit was conceived by then-Governor-General Malik Ghulam and drafting was completed by then-chief Minister
Mumtaz Ali Doltana
Mumtaz ( ar, ممتاز) is a name commonly used in various countries in the Muslim world, mainly Afghanistan, Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey. It can also be used as a female name. ''Mumtazah'' is a related female versio ...
. The first official announcement about it was made on 22 November 1954. Rationalizing the framework, Bogra enumerated the benefits of having one unit or province: "There will be no Bengalis, no Punjabis, no Sindhis, no Pathans, no Balochis, no Bahawalpuris, no Khairpuris. The disappearance of these groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan." The Prime Minister
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali ( Urdu, pa, ; 15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982), best known as Muhammad Ali, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed on 12 August 1955. His government tran ...
implemented the framework of the One Unit program on 14 October 1955 after Pakistan National Assembly passed a bill merging all of West Pakistan into a single province on 30 September 1955.
1. It would end the curse of provincial prejudices.
2. It would allow the development of backward areas.
3. It would reduce administrative expenses.
4. It would make it easier to draw up a new constitution.
5. It would give East and West Pakistan maximum autonomy.
(The reasons given to the Assembly for adopting the One Unit Scheme by
Iskander Mirza
Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakistan. ...
in September 1955.)
[The History And Culture of Pakistan, Nigel Kelly. Retrieved 16 August 2015]
After the
1954 general election, the four provinces and
Tribal Areas were merged in the western wing. The province was composed of twelve
divisions and the provincial capital was established at
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
. The province of
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = Ea ...
(including
Sylhet and the Hill Tracts) was renamed
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...
with the provincial capital at
Dacca
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
. The federal government moved the country's capital in the beginning of the year 1959 from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
to
Rawalpindi (serving as provisional capital until the town planning of
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
was carried out and completed).
West Pakistan formed a single and united political entity but with marked linguistic and ethnic distinctions. The One Unit policy was regarded as an administrative reform that would reduce expenditure and help eliminate ethnic and parochial prejudices. However, with the military coup of 1958, trouble loomed for the province when the office of
Chief Minister was abolished and the President claimed executive power over
West Pakistan. The province of
West Pakistan was dissolved on 1 July 1970 by President General
Yahya Khan.
References
Bibliography
* {{citation , last=Talbot , first=Ian , title=Pakistan: A Modern History , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs0HdpKuaQC , year=1998 , publisher=St. Martin's Press , isbn=978-0-312-21606-1
External links
Formation of One Unit storyofpakistan.com website, West Pakistan Established as 'One Unit' province on 30 Sept.1955. Retrieved 16 August 2015
Political history of Pakistan
West Pakistan
Political terminology in Pakistan
Federalism in Pakistan